As Bad River heads to Federal Court for emergency shut down of Line 5, area is woefully underprepared for a pipeline rupture

A meeting at the Bad River meander on May 5, 2023, with Enbridge, two engineering firms, Region 5 EPA and Mashkiiziibii Department of Natural Resources. The river bank is now approximately 10-12 feet from the pipeline. (Photo © and courtesy David Joe Bates)

By Barbara With*
Posted May 17, 2023, on Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative
Published in part here with permission

The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa are in Federal Court on Thursday, May 18, to ask the judge to shut down Enbridge Line 5 in the face of the deteriorating conditions of the pipeline and the urgent emergency an imminent pipeline rupture presents to the area.

On November 28, 2022, after finding Enbridge guilty of trespassing, US District Court Judge William Conley issued an order for Bad River and Enbridge to come to an agreement about shutting down the aging pipeline after years of unsuccessful mediation and litigation. Stopping short of ordering the pipeline decommissioned, Judge Conley based his ruling on the idea that "the risk of a catastrophic failure of the pipeline at the meander remains thankfully at least a year away." The opinion was based on "26 or 27 feet of riverbank between the Bad River shoreline and Line 5 at its nearest point."

Drone shots taken on April 11 and May 1 showed erosion due to flooding has swept away the banks, and the shortest distance between the pipeline and the River was roughly 17-18 feet, only four months later. On May 5, the river has rapidly eroded the shorelines to within 10 feet of the pipeline (photo above)....CLICK HERE to read the rest of this article.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel supports Bad River in Amicus Brief

On May 17, 2023, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an amicus brief in support of the emergency motion filed last week by the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation asking for the shutdown of Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline as mentioned above.

If the pipeline ruptures, it will release oil and natural gas liquids into the Bad River, which flows directly into Lake Superior a mere 16 miles downstream.

"Lake Superior is a priceless natural and cultural resource and, like all the Great Lakes, it is vital to our way of life in Michigan," Nessel said. "As Attorney General, I owe a duty to the people of Michigan to protect all of Michigan’s waters, not only for us today, but also for future generations. I will always do everything in my power to protect the Great Lakes from the threat posed by those who care more about their bottom line than about Michigan’s residents and natural resources." (Inset photo: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Photo courtesy michigan.gov.)

The purpose of the State’s brief is to ask the court to consider the impacts to the State of Michigan, its residents, and its natural resources if the pipeline ruptures and contaminates Lake Superior, and to inform the court that Michigan believes that the risk of a rupture outweighs any risk posed by a shutdown.

Nessel filed a lawsuit in state court in June 2019 to shut down Line 5, saying it was a grave threat to Michigan and the Great Lakes.

* Editor's Note: Guest author Barbara With is a journalist for the Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative.